Empire Knights and the Council of Six
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: Takes place at the beginning of Bravely Default, there will be spoilers. After Sir Therius and General Asthar are caught breaking into Eternia's Central Command, they are sent to Eisenburg to assist the Black Blades and Swordbearers with a war with the Shieldbearers, with the promise that they will have help in being sent home after this. Things are, however, not what they seem.
1. Into a new world

**I do not own Bravely Default, nor do I own the Last Story.**

**Warning: Spoilers for the beginning of the Bravely Default game, spoilers for the Last Story, mentioned violence, AU situation in which Therius and Asthar end up in Eternia*THE NEXT PART IS A SPOILER* shortly after Edea leaves Eternia with the Sky Knights to look for the Agnes Oblige, Vestal of Wind *SPOILER ENDS HERE* If you want some nice music to listen to while reading this, I would recommend to search up 'Below the Duchy's Banner' on Youtube, it is the villains theme for Bravely Default whenever they have cutscenes involving them. XD **

**Erm, so...yeah. This is basically the first time I've ever written a fanfic involving specifically some of the Council of Six from Bravely Default, so much constructive criticism regarding the characters Victor, Victoria, Alternis Dim and Braev Lee would be appreciated. Actually, any constructive criticism regarding any of the characters (including the Last Story characters) would be appreciated. I may or may not continue this fic... If I do, expect any updates to be extremely sporadic...**

**Warning: Spoilers for both Last Story and Bravely Default, AU-ish situation, mentioned violence**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks! XD**

* * *

Grand Marshal Braev Lee, ruler of the entire Duchy of Eternia, knew that there would be people trying to go against his beliefs of Anti-Crystalism. He knew that from the start.

What he was not expecting, though, after Edea had left to go on her quest to look for the Vestal of Wind, was that there would be people breaking into Eternia and defeating at least twenty, if not more, of his Eternian soldiers-as well as temporarily disarming _Knight Heinkel_ of all people. Thankfully, Alternis Dim, Victor S. Court and Victoria were able to force them to surrender, and were now bringing said intruders to the meeting room...

"Grand Marshal?" Doctor Victor's voice echoed through the room as Braev heard the sound of footsteps approaching. "We have the intruders...they call themselves 'Sir Therius' and 'General Asthar,' claiming to hail from 'The Empire,' wherever that place could be..."

"Bring them in," The Grand Marshal ordered, turning to face the intruders, with Victor, the Witch Victoria and Dark Knight Alternis Dim behind them to keep them from trying to run.

Both of the intruders were men-one of them was obviously younger than the other. The younger man had thick hair of white, tied back in a long braid that trailed to his waist. Bangs covered his left eye from view, the right eye glimmering a light emerald. His white armor was dented, scratched, even torn in parts. Most likely he had been the one battling Victor and Victoria-the cuts on his left cheek were bleeding quite a bit, and there was a gash on his right hand. If one looked closely enough, there was even an extremely thin line right across his throat-most likely Victor had threatened to slit his throat to get them to surrender.

The older man had facial hair that matched his shoulder length, thick brown hair. There was a long, thin scar over his right eye that wasn't from him fighting Alternis Dim-most likely that scar had appeared long, long ago, as it was mostly faded by now. His long, blue coat was torn, as well as the rest of his clothing. He, like the white-haired knight, had been beaten during his fight-his fight with Alternis Dim.

The Grand Marshal observed the two carefully. From what he could tell from their appearances, both had to be knights from some other place. But from where? He doubted they were part of the Swordbearers or Shieldbearers-the armor they wore was different from that.

"Which one of you is General Asthar?" Braev demanded. "Step forwards and explain at once as of how you managed to break into the Eternian Central Command."

The man with the scar on his face stepped forwards. Despite the fact that he was obviously beaten and had fought so much, he was doing very well with not showing any tiredness. A serious look was on his face as he made complete eye contact with Braev while speaking.

"I am General Asthar, sir. Sir Therius and I do not have much of an idea as of how we managed to get into this place you call Eternia's Central Command. We both fought your soldiers in self-defense, as we had no idea at the time that we were breaking any rule of the sort and they did not explain very well that we were breaking any rule. We apologize for this, Grand Marshal."

He bowed after this, the white knight Therius bowing as well despite being restrained with their wrists behind them.

Braev eyed them carefully. Should he believe them? Or could they be spies for the Crystalists, or for the wind vestal Agnes Oblige? He had to know.

"Where did the both of you come from? What parts of this 'idea' got you here, to Eternia?"

Therius looked like he was about to speak, but Asthar seemed to give him a look, telling him that he would do all the talking.

"We come from Lazulis City, which is located on Lazulis Island."

"Lazulis...Island?"

"Yes. We arrived here in Eternia through...a portal, if one could say that."

"Grand Marshal?" Alternis' mechanical voice came up. "There was a shimmering white circle where these two intruders came into Eternia from, but it disappeared shortly after their arrival."

"I see. So you speak the truth."

Braev had to think for a moment as of what to do with these men. First off, they had broken into Eternian Central Command for no reason, disarmed Knight Heinkel and defeated twenty of his many soldiers. They should be put in the dungeon for such a crime.

But on the other hand, they had broken into Eternian Central Command for _no reason,_ disarmed _Knight Heinkel_ and defeated _twenty_ of his many soldiers. To think they were on par with an asterisk holder and had actually subdued one of them was impressive. This got the wheels turning on Braev's mind. They could be useful. Besides, they had no knowledge of this world, of Crystalism, of Anti-Crystalism...yes, they could prove to be useful.

"I have made a decision." The Grand Marshal announced, making eye contact with General Asthar. "If you, General Asthar, and Sir Therius are willing to assist the Black Blades in Eisenburg and succeed in this, we will work with you to find a way back to your world. Will this work?"

Braev remembered, from what he last heard from the Black Blades leader, Nobutsuna Kamiizumi, that he was struggling to overcome the Shieldbearers back at Eisenburg. Perhaps, Braev thought, that with these two soldiers backing him up they might be able to make some progress.

He noticed that Asthar had not yet responded.

"What will it be, General Asthar? Does this approve?"

* * *

General Asthar glanced at Therius quietly as he thought about such a thing.

Working with people that had promised him and Therius to help them find a way back to Lazulis? After they had Victoria (the small, floating child-looking person who wore all red), Victor (the scientist man with super-long grey/white hair) and Alternis Dim (someone wearing armor from head to toe) beat them up?

It was certainly something unexpected.

But if they were asking this of them, it only seemed fair. How else would they be able to get back to their own world? After they had accidentally stepped through that portal to get to this place the others called Eternia (a snowy place that reminded Asthar a lot of the Empire), the portal had closed behind them shortly after arriving. Neither he or Therius knew any way as of how to get back home.

So...perhaps working with these individuals might not be so bad. And surely they would inform them more as of how this world worked, what this group of people were up to.

The only thing he hoped was that he hadn't made the wrong choice. He looked at Therius, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him and merely nodded, before Asthar turned and nodded towards Braev.

"We approve of this, Grand Marshal. We will work with you in the exchange that you find us a way to get back home."

Braev nodded. "Very well." He turned to Victor, Alternis and Victoria. "Bring them by airship to Eisenburg immediately and send word to Kammiizumi that he will be receiving some assistance with the war against the Shieldbearers."

Alternis Dim bowed. "It will be done, Lord Marshal." The three members of the Council of Six turned to escort Sir Therius and General Asthar out of the room.

Braev now knew that all he could do with Therius and Asthar was to wait and see how they participated in the war at Eisenburg. If they proved to be an asset to the Black Blades, he would certainly keep his end of the deal. But if not...well, their elimination was the only thing he would offer them.

* * *

"General Asthar?"

It was Sir Therius who had spoken up. The two were on their way to Eisenburg by airship. Although Asthar was grateful that it was not as cold in Eisenburg as it was in Eternia just now-he and Sir Therius had practically been freezing somewhat because they weren't prepared for such cold temperatures that were akin tot he Empire-it was going to be a warm climate there, and it was also a warzone from what he had heard from Victor S. Court earlier.

Right now the two were alone where they were on the airship, a balcony sort of place overlooking the land and clouds below them. It was the perfect time to talk about what had just happened.

Asthar turned to his white-haired pupil quietly.

"What is it, Sir Therius?"

The white knight was frowning a bit as he spoke. "I have the feeling that they are going to use our lack of knowledge of this world to their advantage. From what it sounds like in Eisenburg that Victor told us earlier, about the need to secure the Fire Crystal...there is more than just the one side. There is another, the story of the Shieldbearers. And all this talk of Crystalism and Anti-Crystalism is...confusing to me, I admit."

General Asthar nodded. "It confuses me as well, Sir Therius. I believe our best course of action would be to go along with what the Grand Marshal Braev Lee has planned for us first, and in the meanwhile find out more about Anti-Crystalism and Crystalism, as well as the whole reason as of why the war is Eisenburg is truly happening. After we have gathered enough information, that is when we'll figure out a next course of action."

Sir Therius nodded quietly. "It will be as your say, General."

The two looked towards their destination, seeing as they were approaching quickly. All they could do now was just wait and observe.


	2. Introductions

_2\. Introductions_

When they finally got to the Black Blades and Swordbearers' Headquarters (called Starkfort in Eisenburg, as they soon found out), Commander Nobutsuna Kammizumi, a man who wielded a katana and wore a long green robe and an intimidating aura about him, was quick to greet them and not in a harmful way, to their relief. It was not long, after Kamiizumi had given them information as of why they were fighting the Shieldbearers in Eisenburg, before Asthar and Therius were presented to the rest of the Black Blades.

"I introduce to you two warriors sent by Templar Braev. This is White Knight Sir Therius, and General Asthar. They will be assisting us in our mission to reach the Fire Crystal and to defeat the Shieldbearers here in Eisenburg."

Therius glanced at the four other people that belonged to the Black Blades. Barbarossa was a pirate, a muscled man who wielded an axe over his shoulder. There was the bubbly Praline a la Mode, wielder of the performer asterisk (and as Therius had learned earlier, an asterisk gave the person using it special abilities, depending on which what type of asterisk it was), and judging from the microphone in her hand she seemed to love singing _a lot. _Qada, a plump man with greasy black hair and wielder of the salve-maker asterisk, was someone that Therius felt a bad vibe from. The white knight made note to observe him more carefully than the rest of the Black Blades.

And then...there was the quiet ninja, Konoe Kikyo, with her long green hair and tall slim stature.

There was something about her that Therius couldn't put his finger on. Something mysterious. Maybe deadly. Maybe strange. He just didn't know. He made a note to himself to observe her the closest out of the Black Blades, even more than Qada.

* * *

It was partway through the afternoon by the time Kamiizumi had finally given enough information to Asthar and Therius to understand the situation in this world, or at least the basics of it.

Crystalism (some kind of religion in which people worshipped crystals and stuff, or at least that was what Therius somehow figured out) was corrupted, therefore Braev the Templar had come up with Anti-Crystalism, which involved the duchy taking control of all Four Crystals in the world. They already had power over the Earth Crystal back in Eternia, but here in Eisenburg they had yet to seek out a way into the Fire Temple to get to the Fire Crystal. They had been pretty close to finding the Fire Crystal earlier on, but disaster struck when Konoe Kikyo killed the fire vestal. Mount Karka, the volcano in Eisenburg, erupted and basically sealed off all entry into the temple. And meanwhile, they had the Shieldbearers to fight.

So...basically here in Eisenburg they were looking for a way into the temple while trying to crush the Shieldbearers at the same time so they could take control of the Fire Crystal before the wind vestal Agnes Oblige could get her hands on it.

It was night by now, and Therius quickly learned that despite it being cooler at night here in Eisenburg, well...it was still freaking warm. Far warmer than, say, Lazulis Island or the snowy Empire. And it was not fun.

Because of the fact that Therius and Asthar had obviously landed in Luxendarc without any spare clothes or anything of the sort, they had been given some spare nightclothes, but unfortunately they just didn't seem light enough to keep Therius from sweating. He opted to keep his shirt unbuttoned as he lay in bed without the blanket over him (because using the blanket made it way too hot for him to stand).

...and sadly despite not have a blanket on and his shirt unbuttoned, it wasn't working. He growled in frustration, removing his shirt before lying on the bed.

...It didn't help.

"Damnation." The white knight muttered, tossing and turning in bed.

This was going to be a long night...

* * *

Meanwhile, Asthar was sound asleep in his room.

At least, he would be if he could stop hearing Qada mutter things from the room next door.

"Finally it'll be cleaned up...it won't be long now until the clearing of the East City is complete...and then..." He heard Qada laughing from next door. Asthar, despite having met some nasty people on the battlefield, felt that Qada might take the cake. If only he knew what that man's motives were...

Asthar made a note to himself, as he fell asleep, to definitely make sure to watch the salve-maker carefully.

* * *

**Author note: As you can all probably see, I have decided to continue this story! XD I really hope you guys like this, and again LOTS of constructive criticism concerning any of the characters would be really great. Or any constructive criticism regarding anything at all, that is. XD Thank you so much, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this! XD **


	3. Early Mornings

_3\. Early Mornings_

Asthar was not expecting to wake up to several soldiers from outside shouting "YEAAAH! PRALIIIINNNEEEEE!" At the top of their lungs.

Nor was he expecting to hear Praline already singing at the top of her lungs outside while he quickly got dressed for the day.

And despite her singing sound pretty good, well...it was loud, as he probably should have expected.

_Set in my sights,_

_Get you tonight,_

_Love in the crossfire,_

_Ready, aim, fire!_

_Feeling alright,_

_Squeeze you so tight,  
_

_Love in the crossfire,  
_

_Ready, aim, fire!_

_**"SHUT UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"**_

...

That was definitely not part of the song. Asthar threw the door open to see Praline's fans all pointing crossbows and pitchforks at Qada in rage, Praline also glaring at Qada and already in her Performer asterisk gear. Qada, who was already wearing his Salve-Maker gear, glared back at them.

"Hey!" The diva of the battlefield was pouting, glaring at Qada. "Don't interrupt my performance and wake-up call!"

"I'd rather have Kikyo barge into my room in the morning than listen to your disgusting voice!" Qada snapped back.

Before Praline could shout something back, Asthar decided that it was time to intervene-even if it was going to get him in trouble with Qada, he hated seeing all of this discourse happening within the Black Blades. Over the past night he had noticed certain things. Specifically, one certain thing.

Everyone, even Commander Kamiizumi, hated Qada to the core. And Asthar had a pretty good idea as of why.

_"Salve-Maker Qada."_

Everyone else turned to see Asthar, who had full-on rage imprinted on his face. Qada flinched, trying to sound brave as he spoke.

"Wh-what is it!?"

Asthar continued to glare him down. "You're being absolutely disrespectful towards Miss Praline, and you should apologize immediately."

"And-and-" Qada looked frustrated, but Asthar could easily see the fear in his eyes. "What if I don't want to?"

"Well," Asthar started, glancing towards Praline's fans, "They're going to try to slaughter you. I don't think that would be a delightful wake-up call, would it? Or Praline could just sing to your eardrums until they explode, or I could cut you down, assuming I have Swordmaster Kammiizumi's permission. But then again, I'm sure he probably wouldn't mind..."

"Er..." Qada looked to the angry Praline, the angry fans, and then to the angry Asthar. "Oh...fine, you win! Sorry!" He muttered, tromping down the hallway afterwards, grumbling to himself.

Praline's fans started cheering at this.

"YEAAAAAHHHH, uh..." All of the fans went into silence before one of them meekly asked Praline. "Erm, what is his name?"

"Oh! Uh..." Praline winced as well as Asthar. "What's your name again, mister?"

"Asthar. My name is Asthar, Miss Praline." Asthar replied quickly.

Praline sheepishly grinned at her fellow fans. "Yeah, Asthar! That's his name!"

The fans cheered again.

"YEAAAHHHHH, ASTHARRRRR!"

That was when Therius opened the door. The white knight was wearing nothing but pants, his braid completely undone. It was obvious that the poor guy was still sleepy.

"Mm...? What happened...?"

Asthar chuckled a bit. "Good morning, Sir Therius. I think you would like to change into proper clothes before joining us for breakfast..."

Therius blinked. "Mm?" He looked down at himself, before he blushed and rushed back into his room, slamming the door behind him. At the same time, Konoe Kikyo had just walked out of her room to see Therius running back into his room. The ninja blinked, not saying a word.

Asthar offered the ninja a friendly smile. "Good morning, Miss Konoe."

The ninja was silent.

Praline coughed. "Erm, he's talking to you, Kikyo..."

The ninja was silent for a moment more, until a puff of smoke appeared around Konoe, obscuring the ninja completely. Her tall, thin figure was replaced by that of a young woman with a flower hairclip in her hair, speaking extremely quickly.

"GoodmorningGeneralAstharandPraline. Idohopethatyoubothsleptwell, andthankyou!"

The smoke appeared about the figure, and it changed back to the silent ninja Konoe Kikyo.

Asthar blinked in surprise. "Miss Praline...does Miss Konoe always speak like this?"

Praline nodded. "Yeah, she does. Though most of us are pretty used to it by now..." She grinned at Asthar. "Thanks for sticking up for me! Me and my fans appreciate it!"

As if on cue, Praline's fans started cheering again. "YEAAAHHH, ASTHARRRRR!"

Asthar mentally sweatdropped as he grinned sheepishly at them. "Y-you're welcome, all of you..."

* * *

Breakfast was...surprisingly quiet, which surprised both Therius and Asthar.

Maybe it was because Qada was too pissed off by Asthar defending Praline earlier to talk about anything, or because Praline was too busy swaying her body to some song she had in her head. Maybe it was because Kikyo was generally silent when in her normal ninja form, or Barbarossa was too busy eating as much bread and meat as he was allowed to in order to talk. Maybe it was because Nobutsuna Kamiizumi would just rather enjoy his breakfast in silence. Or maybe it was because Asthar and Therius had no idea what to say and rather wanted to observe everyone.

But still, it was awkward aside from being quiet. So it was pretty weird, all in all.

As soon as breakfast was finished, Kamiizumi spoke up.

"General Asthar, Sir Therius, the two of you will remain here today and I will be examining your fighting abilities to see where it would be best for the both of you to aid us in this war. The rest of you will continue your current missions, except for Konoe." He turned to Konoe as he spoke. "Konoe, I would like for you to remain here at Starkfort today. You will assist me in helping me examine Asthar and Therius' fighting abilities as so I will know where they will be best suited to aid us against the Shieldbearers."

Konoe nodded in response to Kamiizumi's words as Therius and Asthar exchanged glances with each other.

Kamiizumi would examine them? Asthar had a feeling it was probably something akin to how the knights back in the Empire, back at home, were trained. But then again Konoe was staying here to help Kamiizumi, so perhaps Kamiizumi felt it was best to pit Konoe against Asthar and Therius to see how well they fought against an Elite member of the Black Blades? That would make sense.

Well, no matter what it was going to be, the two were definitely more than ready to fight it out.

* * *

**Author note: Aaaandddd...here's the third chapter! XD The song Praline sings IS a song that Praline actually sings from Bravely Default called 'Love in the Crossfire,' so I don't own it. XD I always thought it would be a cool wake-up call..XD Thanks for reading, and please review! XD **


	4. Close Watch

_4\. Close Watch_

It wasn't long before General Asthar, Sir Therius, Konoe Kikyo and Nobutsana Kamiizumi were the only people in one of the rooms used for training the Swordbearer soldiers in Starkfort. Everyone else in the Black Blades had already left to continue their missions. Asthar didn't find it too surprising that Praline was the one leading the forces at the Eisen Bridge, where the main battle against the Shieldbearers was going on. The Swordbearers would definitely benefit from the performer's ability to act as a buffer for the troops there.

But they couldn't exactly think about it right now. Right now they had to face off against Kamiizumi and Kikyo.

The way Kamiizumi had set up the examination was like this. Kamiizumi would battle Asthar one-on-one and observe his fighting strategies and abilities while doing so. Then, he would have Kikyo fight Therius one-on-one and he would observe how Therius battled. And then Kamiizumi and Kikyo would both fight as one unit against Asthar and Therius and see how well they worked together.

Therius watched Kamiizumi battle Asthar. The swordmaster seemed to be on the defense-or was he on the offensive at the moment? Therius hadn't really paid attention to who might be winning this duel so far, he was rather focused on the swordmaster's movements.

_He waits for the attack and then makes his counter...that definitely works. Similar to what General Asthar does...they're both matching up well against each other._

He glanced at Kikyo, who was standing next to him. The ninja had her eyes completely glued to the sight of the swordmaster and the general battling each other. Therius didn't blame her-no doubt she was purely interested in watching them battle, and probably observing how Asthar battled his opponent like how Therius was observing Kamiizumi.

Therius glanced towards the duelists again. Asthar and Kamiizumi still appeared to be in some kind of stalemate. A few blocked attacks later, Kammiizumi signalled to Asthar with the sweep of his arm to stop fighting, and Asthar did so.

"Impressive..." Kamiizumi murmured quietly as he sheathed his sword. He turned to Therius and Kikyo. "I trust you both are ready?"

Therius and Kikyo both nodded as they faced each other, backing up a few steps before getting into a battle stance. There was a pause, before Kamiizumi spoke.

"Begin."

Neither of them moved for a moment. The white knight eyed the ninja carefully, waiting for her to strike.

She didn't seem to move.

_Should I attack? Or wait?_

He opted to attack. He knew nothing of her fighting strategy. So he lunged at her, swiping at her.

She dodged-only to counterattack with a slash of her own with her daggers. He dodged, ducking down and rolling out of the way quickly, before he had to block her daggers once more.

_She waits for the opponent to attack...and then dodges at the right time and counterattacks! It's similar to how Swordmaster Kamiizumi fights...similar, but not completely the same, obviously._

He jumped out of the way of several daggers flying at him, before rushing at the ninja and slashing at her. He managed to land a hit, but missed for the rest. He jumped back at a slashing attack from Konoe with her kunai, only to realize that she had cut his left arm.

Well then. Things were only getting more interesting.

The two lunged at each other at once, the kunai and the rapier clashing once, twice, thrice...

All of a sudden, Konoe seemed to disappear.

_Where did she-_

Therius felt himself get tackled down from behind, rolled onto his back. Konoe was right above him, the blade of her kunai positioned right above his neck. All Therius could do, with his rapier knocked out of his hand and in such a vulnerable position, was to stare right up at her.

_...She found an opening during our clash, and exploited it._

The white knight swore that he could hear Kamiizumi almost chuckle.

"Excellent. Well done, both of you."

Therius doubted that he did a job well done. He must have looked like an idiot in front of Swordmaster Kamiizumi being overcome by Konoe Kikyo's skill.

Konoe jumped off Therius, doing a back flip before landing on her feet perfectly. Therius got up, standing before he moved to stand beside Asthar.

Kamiizumi walked forwards to stand beside the ninja as he spoke.

"And now for the tag-team battle. I trust you both are ready?"

Asthar and Therius both exchanged glances, before turning to their opponents.

"Yes."

In a heartbeat, the four lunged at each other...

* * *

Praline walked down the hall of Starkfort happily, humming 'Love in the Crossfire' aloud. She loved it when she saw the enemy at Eisen Bridge running for their lives. It was all thanks to her, of course. She was the reason things were going quite well at the Bridge for the Swordbearers-her Performer asterisk gave her the ability to be a buffer for the Swordbearers with her singing! And besides making the enemy run away screaming, she had an extra bonus added in to it-she had a _fanclub, _as Asthar had seen from earlier in the day.

She paused, standing in the hallway and thinking aloud. "I wonder how Asthar and Therius are doing with their training with Konoe and the Swordmaster...?"

As if on cue, Asthar appeared in the hall, with an aching Therius slung over his back. Both of them had obvious bruises and cuts, and Therius' armor was dented in several places.

"Oh, dear!" The Performer rushed over to Asthar, eyes wide. "What happened!? Are you alright!?"

Asthar chuckled a bit, but he sounded a little tired. "We'll both be fine, Praline." He assured her. "We were just training with Miss Konoe and Commander Kamiizumi just now. Kamiizumi said that me and Sir Therius will be joining you to assist the Swordbearers at the Eisen Bridge, starting tomorrow."

This elicited a pained groan from Therius, who seemed far too exhausted to say anything else. Asthar winced.

"Let me correct that statement-we will be joining you to assist the Swordbearers at the Eisen Bridge as soon as Sir Therius' health is completely restored. He took quite a beating from Miss Konoe earlier..."

Therius didn't try to listen anymore, closing his eyes and trying to rest as he thought of the training session with Konoe Kikyo and Swordmaster Kamiizumi. He respected that the two Black Blade members were strong fighters, and that neither of them were too cowardly to taken them on-if anything, they seemed eager to battle with worthy opponents.

Grinning a little bit, Therius fell asleep, making a mental note to train more with Konoe and the Swordmaster when he had the chance.


	5. Biding Time

_5\. Biding time_

After a while in Starkfort's hospital wing, Therius was cleared to battle at the Eisen Bridge. Commander Kamiizumi was delighted at this and quickly sent Therius and Asthar to join Praline at the Eisen Bridge.

As soon as the two knights arrived,Praline was super happy to see them. Maybe too happy, but then again she was already regarding General Asthar as a great friend ever since he stuck up for her against Qada and the two knights didn't mind her bubbly, hyper moods in comparison to the unwelcoming aura of Qada, or the awkward silence from Konoe Kikyo, or Barbarossa being his piratey, booming self or the stiff, disciplined Kamiizumi, so things kind of balanced themselves out because of how different everyone was personality-wise.

Sometimes the variety in personalities made Therius wonder how in the world the Black Blades functioned together, but he figured that was a question best answered later. Right now they had to deal with the Shieldbearers that were trying to cross the Eisen Bridge.

Praline seemed to scowl as she looked to the Shieldbearers. "They won't let us cross the bridge. And I sang so nicely and danced for them!" She complained, her face contorting into one of obvious annoyance, though Asthar couldn't help but think of it as like a young child complaining, which looked cute. "So we have no choice but to keep pushing them away."

Therius nodded, looking to the Shieldbearers. "I see. And that is where General Asthar and I come in, Miss Praline?"

Praline grinned, twirling her microphone in hand. "Exactly! I sing to buff your power, and you guys push them all the way back so we can cross that bridge sooner! I mean, they have to run out of reinforcements sometime, right?"

Asthar nodded. "That is true. All we can do for now is rely on Miss Praline's abilities to buff what abilities we have to keep the Shieldbearers back."

Praline giggled, as she looked to Asthar. "That's right! Are you ready?"

Therius and Asthar nodded. "Yes."

Praline grinned, looking to the Swordbearers. "Remember, everyone! When I sing...?"

_"WE GO WILD!"_

"And when I dance?"

_"WE GO WILD!"_

"That's it! Thank you all!"

_"YEAAAAAAAAHHHHH, PRALINE! YEAAAAHH ASTHAR! YEAAAAAAAHH, THERIUS!"_

Therius blinked."I'm not sure whether I should feel honoured by having such a following, or disturbed." He muttered.

Asthar shrugged. "I just try to ignore it sometimes. Better than feeling disturbed."

"True."

* * *

The Shieldbearers soon enough were ready to attack. Asthar and Therius were at the front of the Swordbearers blocking them.

Praline was at the back of the army, so that it would be harder for the Shieldbearers to reach her as she started singing.

_"Ready my sights,_

_Get you tonight,_

_Love in the Crossfire,_

_Ready, aim FIRE!"_

An orange aura seemed to glow around all the soldiers at once, and soem of the Swordbearers let out a cheer, waving their arms.

"YEAAAAAAHHHH PRALINE!"

Asthar could see the fear in the Shieldbearers' eyes, and he knew it was the perfect chance to strike.

"Swordbearers, attack!"

All the Swordbearers rushed forwards at once, easily tearing through the Shieldbearers and hacking at them. Asthar moved, bringing his sword upwards to block an attack from one Shieldbearer. However, the force of his movement, easily buffed by Praline, knocked the Shieldbearer backwards entirely, the Shielderbearer's sword flying out of his hand. The soldier sputtered out panic before turning and running. Asthar merely continued fighting, taking down more Shieldbearers one by one.

Therius, meanwhile, spotted a blond man who seemed to be a higher ranking than the other Shieldbearers. This must be Daniel Goodman, head of the Shieldbearers. Praline told Asthar and Therius about him briefly on the way to Eisen Bridge. The white knight rushed to Goodman, stabbing at him. The Shieldbearer Commander dodged, putting up his shield in time and deflecting the blow. Therius continued to stab at him, but kept being blocked (no wonder they call themselves the Shieldbearers, Therius realized—those shields were pretty wide and covered most areas of the body pretty well) until he noticed a weak spot—a few links in the chainmal armor that draped Goodman's legs.

With one swoop, Therius dove underneath Goodman trying to stab at him and the white knight used his sword to grab onto the chainmail, pulling roughly. The Commander fell, hitting the ground and losing his sword, and Therius used the opportunity to kick the shield out of Goodman's hands and point his sword at his neck.

Goodman just stared right back at him, eyes wide in disbelief as the Swordbearers cheered.

"You.." He trailed off, but that was when the sounds of horns blasting through the air caught the white knight's attention.

The Shieldbearers had brought reinforcements.

"Retreat and let the reinforcements take care of them!" Goodman shouted, and Therius looked up and realized that he let the Commander run off. The white knight cursed himself mentally for not paying attention, just as Asthar also shouted.

"Fall back!" Asthar's voice practically boomed through the air. "We can't let them cross the bridge and get to the rest of the forces and Praline! Fall back!"

The Swordbearers, and Therius, quickly rushed back to where their camps were, on their side of the bridge. Therius let out a slow breath, panting. The Shieldbearers appeared to have completely retreated for now.

Praline was heard groaning. "I was hoping we'd be able to cross the bridge..."

Asthar let out a soft 'hm' under his breath. "I think we'll need to hold our own ground first. As soon as their forces are completely exhausted, we'll be able to cross the bridge then. Right now they'll have too many for us to handle with the reinforcements coming in, so we're going to have to bide our time." He looked to Praline. "Do you know how many men belong to the Shieldbearers' army?"

The Performer-asterisk-owner shook her head. "No, I don't. Sorry."

Therius winced. _So much for this to be easy..._

He just hoped that it wouldn't take too long. If it did, the longer it could possibly take for him and Asthar to return home.

* * *

**Author note: I'M SO SORRY FOR SUCH A DELAAAAAYYY IN UPDAAAATEESSSS. T_T I've been super-occupied with life in general and other stuff...so it's going to be a long while until the next update. I don't know how long. But thank you for reading and reviewing so far—it is all appreciated! XDDD**


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